Last Updated on February 24, 2024 by AwesomeChickens
Love your backyard free-range chickens, but hate how they keep destroying all the hard work you put into your flower garden? If your answer is yes, it is time for you to try out some of our tips and tricks to keeping chickens out of flower beds.
There are many ways to keep chickens out of the garden bed, and most of them include deterring them through their senses. Add in some smells they do not like, tastes they can’t stand, and decoys they hate to see.
If you are interested in trying some natural, yet effective ways to keep your chickens out of your garden bed for good, continue reading this article.
Table of Contents
Why Do Chickens Dig Up Flower Beds?
One of the main reasons chickens dig up flower beds is because the soil is rich, and the bugs and worms are plentiful. These are the perfect snacks for your backyard birds, and they are easy to find in a well-kept location.
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Secondly, chickens love to scratch and have a dust bath. This is another alluring feature of your herb garden. In this space, chickens can easily dig through the soft soil and the dirt around without much effort.
Do Chickens Eat Flowers?
Yes, chickens will eat flowers, and for the most part, they are really good for them. Flowers provide the nutritional values needed to maintain your chicken’s health. If you are interested in growing a variety of healthy flowers for your chickens to peck at, here are a few of the best options.
- Dandelion
- Beebalm
- Roses
- Marigolds
- Cone Flowers
- Sunflowers
- Thistle
If your chickens are frequently getting into your garden, there are also many flowers to steer clear of as they can be very dangerous and poisonous for your birds.
- Tulips
- Lilacs
- Lily of the valley
- Buttercups
- Sweet pea
- Iris
- Hydrangeas
- Poppy
Make sure you only plant chicken-friendly plants when raising chickens.
Chicken owners need to keep an eye on the plants and flowers growing not only in your flower bed but also wild in your yard or anywhere your chicken will roam. Although chickens will often stray away from poisonous plants, this is not the case all the time and could result in the death of your flock.
How Do You Keep Chickens Out of Flower Beds?
Free-range chickens are some of the happiest birds. However, allowing them to have access to every area of your yard can be troublesome. Here are a few different ways you can try to keep your chickens out of your flower beds.
Herbs (Ones With a Strong Scent)
One of the best ways to keep your chickens from pecking through your flower bed is by adding in a few herb plants that expel a strong scent. Chickens do not like the smell of naturally growing herbs and will likely steer clear of your flower garden if they are present.
Citrus Fruits
Keep the peels to your lemons, limes, and oranges and sprinkle them throughout your flowerbed. You can pour orange or lemon juice around the edges of your garden as well. Like herbs, chickens are not huge fans of the citrusy smell or taste.
Fake Snakes
Desperate times call for desperate measures. It’s no secret that chickens are terrified of snakes. Use fake reptiles along with predator decoys to scare birds from entering into areas they shouldn’t be.
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- Fake rubber snake toy, about 49 inches long. Approximately 49 inch from nose to tail.Thickness:0.6 inch. Weight: Approx. 200 g
- snakes toys black prank stuff fack rubber cobra snake fake snakes that look real, A great halloween decoration, or a scary gift for your friends.
- Fake snake Black color, belly is yellow. There will be a little rubber smell when the first time use. Rubber smell, environmental protection material. Surprise or shock your friends. Happy halloween or Happy April Fool's Day.
Give Them Their Own Garden
Chickens love grazing and picking at bugs and vegetation. If you give them a chicken garden that is okay for them to munch through, they will, more likely than not, stay away from yours.
To make the new garden more appealing, add in vegetation that chickens are more likely to go for. Consider planting leafy greens, cucumbers, and sunflowers.
Fences
One of the more obvious answers to this problem is putting up a chicken fence around the garden so these birds cannot destroy your beautiful landscape. Different types of fences would work great for keeping chickens out of the garden while still giving your yard a nice look.
Use a Sprinkler System
Using a sprinkler system may only need to be a temporary solution. After a little while, your chickens will learn to stay out of the area, or else they will get wet. The best type of sprinkler for this task is a motion-detecting sprinkler system.
Chili Powder
Chickens hate the scent of hot spices and will likely stay away from any area where they can smell chili powder, Chayanne pepper, garlic, etc.
Try mixing the spices to create an even more potent formula.
Remove Their Favorite Foods
Chickens tend to dig up flower beds to get at the bugs and worms crawling beneath the surface. If you lay down bricks or other barriers covering the ground and covering up these tasty treats, the birds may stop coming near your gardens.
None of these methods are full-proof and may not work for everyone, but something may be helpful or consider trying multiple methods at once. If it doesn’t keep them away completely, it may help limit the damage they cause.
How to Stop Chickens From Digging Holes in Gardens and Yards?
As mentioned above, chickens love to dig and scratch, and you will probably find holes in your garden and yard at times. The best way to stop your birds from digging up the yard is by putting down wired mesh in the area they are digging at.
The wired mesh will stop the chickens from digging and encourage them to move to a different location. You can leave this product in place until the grass has grown back.
Our Final Thoughts
There are few animals out there that are as easy to raise as chickens. These birds are reasonably hardy, require little attention, and thrive well in most situations. However, they are animals nonetheless, and they are not going to go unnoticed. If your birds are destroying your flower beds, give one of the options above a try. You never know what might work.
